Game apparatus



July 4, 1939. KEn-H 2,164,682

GAME APPARATUS Filed May 5, 1938 Z 272 a w 44 m INVEN TOR.

Patented July 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a game and more particularly to a game of achance controlled type wherein counters are intermingled with each otherand move to a counting position.

One object of the invention is to provide a game of this type whereinthe counters are. housed in a rotatable carrier and move upwardly to acounting position through a liquid in which they rise to a countingposition after the carrier has been brought to a stationary position. Itwill thus be seen that movement of the counters will be entirely chancecontrolled and cannot be controlled by the operator of the gameapparatus.

Another object of the invention is to form the carrier so that it willbe provided with counterreceiving pockets into which a correspondingnumber of counters are received, thus permitting the counters to formnumbers which are to constitute individual scores obtained by theplayers.

It is another object of the invention to so form the counters that theywill float freely to the top of the carrier and be maintained in anupright position in which position numerals thereon may be read andcombined to form numbers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container rotatablymounted in an improved manner and having yieldable means associatedtherewith to bring it to a stop with the counter receiving pockets atits top.

Another object of the invention is to provide 30 improved means forimparting rotary motion to the container or carrier and permitcontinuous movement of the carrier after the operating means has beenreleased and returned to its normal position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved latch forreleasably securing the operating means of the carrier in its normalposition, coin controlled means being provided for moving the latch to areleasing position.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved game apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken vertically through the rear portion ofthe game apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken vertically through the game apparatusalong the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective View of the latch and associatedmembers.

Fig. 5 is a view showing the main shaft in section and a ratchet wheelthereon in elevation.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of one of the 55 counters.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken vertically through the counter alongthe line ll of Fig. 6.

The housing I of this game apparatus has a forwardly projecting lowerportion 2. The upper portion of the housing has a glass front plate 3and the back A constitutes a removable closure for the entire housingand is held in place by removable fasteners such as a suitable number ofscrews 5. By removing the back, access will be had to mechanism withinthe housing.

A circular casing or hollow wheel 6 is disposed vertically within thehousing and has a glass closure 1 for its front so that the interior ofthe casing may be seen through the glass plate of the housing. Thecasing is filled with water or other suitable liquid and within the.casing are disposed a number of discs 8 formed of wood so that they willfloat to the top of the water in the casing and certain ones thereofenter the pockets or recesses 9 at the top of the wheel which registerwith similar recesses 16 defined by the border ii of the front of thehousing. The discs 8 have numerals upon their front faces, as shown atl2, in Fig. 6. The discs are marked with numerals consecutively numberedfrom 1 to 0 to form a set of discs and in the present illustration therehave been provided two sets of disks and two recesses or pockets 9 intowhich two of the discs come to rest when the wheel is turned or rockedabout its axle or shaft l3 and comes to rest with the pockets at itstop, If more than two sets of discs are to be placed in the casing, acorresponding number of pockets will be provided. By considering thenumerals of the discs seated in the pockets, digets of various numberswithin the scope of the number of sets of discs, will be provided. Thisis clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, where discs bearing numerals l and 2are seated in the pockets and form the number 12. This will representthe score obtained by the player operating the wheel. While the discshave been shown carrying numerals, it is to be understood that othermarkings may be provided, if desired.

The central portion of the back of the casing from which the stub shaftl3 extends is thickened to form a boss i 4 and the central portion ofthe back plate or closure l is formed with a bearing i5 to rotatablyreceive the shaft. A crank arm i6 is carried by the rear end of theshaft and extends downwardly therefrom with its lower end provided witha rearwardly extending pin i! to which is anchored the upper end of aspring l8. This spring has its lower end anchored upon a horn or hook l9carried by the closure 4 and since the spring is under tension it willserve to yieldably hold the casing in its normal position with thepockets uppermost. The casing or wheel will, therefore, always come torest with the pockets in position to receive two of the discs and sincethe discs are weighted, as shown at 20, the numerals or other markingson the discs can be read. In view of the fact that the crank is locatedexternall of the housing, the wheel may be entirely rotated in thehousing or oscillated and only turned about its center a distancesufficient to dislodge the discs and cause them to be thoroughly mixedas they again move upwardly through the water in the casing. It willthus be seen that lodgement of the discs in the pockets will be entirelychance controlled.

In order to rotate or oscillate the wheel, there has been provided alever M which is disposed vertically and pivoted adjacent its lower endto the back plate 4, as shown at 22. An arcuate rack bar or cross head23 extends transversely of the lever at its upper end and this rack barmeshes with a pinion or gear 24 carried by the shaft [3 between the backplate and the wheel or casing 6. The gear or pinion fits loosely aboutthe shaft and carries a pawl 25 urged into engagement with the teeth ofthe ratchet 2d of the shaft by a spring 2?. By this arrangement, thegear wheel may be rotated in one direction as the lever is swung aboutits pivot in opposition to the spring 28 which yieldably holds it in theposition shown in Fig. 2 and when the lever is released and the springreturns it to its original position, the gear will be rotated in areverse direction but the shaft and the wheel may continue to turn inthe original direction by momentum until the spring 18 brings the wheelto a stop with the pockets uppermost. If only slight rotary motion isimparted to the gear and wheel as the lever is actuated, the wheel maybe merely oscillated about its axis and then stop. In either case, themotion will be sufficient to dislodge the discs and cause them to beintermingled and then rise to the surface of the water to be grouped atthe top of the wheel with two of the discs seated in the pockets 9. Onlythe discs seated in the pockets are counted for scoring purposes and theremainder are not considered when reading the score. If so desired, thefront closure 3 may be painted or otherwise shielded so that only aportion of sufiicient dimensions to disclose the pockets will remaintransparent.

The lever 2| is provided at its lower end with a forwardly extending arm29 and at the front end of this arm is a handle all which extendsupwardly with its upper end portion passing through a slot 3| in the topof the forwardly projecting lower portion 2 of the housing andterminating in a finger hold 32 by means of which the handle may beeasily grasped and moved longitudinally of the slot to swing the leverabout its pivot and turn the gear 245. A spring 33 secured at one end tothe handle and at its other end to the post 34 assists in causing thelever to turn about its pivot 33 when the finger hold is grasped and thehandle moved toward the right of Fig. 1 to turn the lever about itspivot.

A latch 35 for releasably holding the lever in its normal position ispivoted to a bracket 38 at the bottom of the housing and at one end isformed with a tooth 3? for engaging the arm 29 of the lever. A spring 38urges the toothed end of the latch upwardly for engagement with thelever arm and assures latching of the lever to prevent it from beingoperated without placing a coin in the coin slot 39 at the front of thelower portion of the housing. A plunger 43 is slidably mounted in thecoin slot and when a coin is placed in the slot and the plunger pressedinwardly a strip M having a depending arm 32 will be forced inwardly inopposition to the action of a spring 43 and a foot 4 5 constituting acam will be shifted toward the latch so that the cam surface will engageunder and act upon the lever end of the latch to raise this end of thelatch and cause the toothed end of the latch to be depressed. The toothwill thus move downwardly out of blocking engagement with the arm 29 ofthe lever 2i and the handle 30 may be moved to turn the lever 29 aboutits pivot 22 to rotate the gear 24, When the strip M is returned to itsnormal position by the spring 43, the latch will be released and itstoothed end will be raised by the spring 38 and returned to a positionfor engaging and securing the arm 29 as the lever 2| is returned to itsnormal position by the spring 28. It will thus be seen that a player canonly operate the game apparatus once each time a coin is deposited inthe coin slot.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A game apparatus comprising a support, a casing carried by saidsupport and rotatable about a horizontal axis and having a transparentfront wall, pockets being formed within the casing about the peripherythereof and extending radially of the casing, means for yieldably holding said casing stationary with the pockets at the top of the casing,the casing being filled with a fluid, counters freely movable in saidcasing, the counters being of less specific gravity than the fluidwhereby they are adapted to rise therein and cer ain of the countersenter said pockets,

and means for turning the casing about its axis to dislodge the countersfor random entry of certain of the counters in the pockets when thecasing is restored to its normal position and the counters move upwardlytherein toward the pockets.

2. A game apparatus comprising a support, a casing in front of saidsupport rotatably carried thereby and having a transparent front wall,the casing being filled with a fluid, counters freely movable in saidcasing, the counters being of less specific gravity than the fluidwhereby they have a tendency to rise to the top of the casing, saidcasing having pockets therein to receive certain of said counters whenthe pockets are at the top of the casing and the counters move upwardlytherein, means for imparting movement to said casing to dislodge thecounters, and means for restoring the casing to its initial positionwith the pockets in position for random entry of counters therein as thecounters move upwardly in the casing.

3. A game apparatus comprising a support, a casing in front of saidsupport having a transparent front Wall the casing being filled with afluid, counters freely movable in said casing, the counters being ofless specific gravity than the fluid whereby they have a tendency torise to the top of the casing, said casing having pockets therein toreceive certain of said counters when the pockets are at the top of thecasing and the counters move upwardly therein, a shaft for said casingjournaled through the support, a crank arm carried by the protrudingrear end of said shaft, a spring anchored at its ends to the support andthe crank arm and yieldably holding the casing in a normal position withthe pockets at the top of the casing, and means for imparting turningmovement to the shaft and casing to dis lodge the counters anddistribute them in the casing for free upward movement therein towardthe pockets when the casing is brought to a stop by said spring.

4. A game apparatus comprising a housing having a forwardly projectinglower portion and above said lower portion having a transparent frontwall, a removable back wall for said housing, a hollow casing filledwith a fluid and disposed vertically in said housing and having atransparent front wall visible through the transparent wall of saidhousing, pockets being provided in said casing at a point about itsperiphery, counters in said casing, the counters being of less specificgravity than the fluid whereby they are adapted to float upwardly in thecasing and certain of the counters enter said pockets at random when thecasing is stationary with its pockets at its top, means for yieldablyholding said casing stationary, and means for imparting rotary motion tosaid casing having an actuating member projecting through the forwardlyprojecting lower portion of said housing.

5. A game apparatus comprising a housing having a forwardly projectinglower portion above said lower portion having a transparent front wall,a removable back wall for said housing, a hollow casing filled with afluid and disposed vertically in said housing and having a transparentfront wall visible through the transparent wall of said housing, pocketsbeing provided in said casing at a point about its periphery, countersin said casing, the counters being of less specific gravity than thefluid whereby they are adapted to float upwardly in the casing andcertain of the counters enter said pockets at random when the casing isstationary with its pockets at its top, a stub shaft for said casingjournalecl through the back wall of said housing, an arm carried by saidshaft, a spring engaging said arm and yieldably holding the shaft andcasing stationary with the pockets at the top of the casing, a pinioncarried by said shaft within the housing, and a lever pivoted to saidback wall having a rack at one end meshing with said pinion and a handleportion at its other end protruding from the forwardly projecting lowerportion of said housing.

6. A game apparatus comprising a housing having a forwardly projectinglower portion and above said lower portion having a transparent frontwall, a removable back wall for said housing, a hollow casing filledwith a fluid and disposed vertically in said housing and having atransparent front wall visible through the transparent wall of saidhousing, pockets being provided in said casing at a point about itsperiphery, counters in said casing, the counters being of less specificgravity than the fluid whereby they are adapted to float upwardly in thecasing and certain of the counters enter said pockets at random when thecasing is stationary with its pockets at its top, a stub shaft for saidcasing journaled through the back wall of said housing, an arm carriedby said shaft, a spring engaging said arm and yieldably holding theshaft and easing stationary with the pockets at the top of the casing, apinion loose about said shaft within the housing, a ratchet extendingabout said shaft, a pawl carried by said pinion and engaging saidratchet, a lever pivoted to said back wall in a vertical position andhaving a rack at its upper end meshing with said pinion, an armprojecting forward from the lower end of said lever, and a handle forsaid arm rising from the front end thereof and protruding through thetop of the forwardly projecting lower portion of said housing.

7. A game apparatus comprising a housing having a forwardly projectinglower portion and above said lower portion having a transparent frontwall, a removable back wall for said housing, a hollow casing filledwith a fluid and disposed vertically in said housing and having atransparent front wall visible through the transparent wall of saidhousing, pockets being provided in said casing at a point about itsperiphery, counters in said casing, the counters being of less specificgravity than the fluid whereby they are adapted to float upwardlytherein and certain of the counters enter said pockets at random whenthe casing is stationary with its pockets at its top, a stub shaft forsaid casing journaled through the back wall of said housing, an armcarried by said shaft, a spring engaging said arm and yieldably holdingthe shaft and casing stationary with the pockets at the top of thecasing, a pinion loose about said shaft within the housing, a ratchetextending about said shaft, a pawl carried by said pinion and engagingsaid ratchet, a lever pivoted to said back wall in a vertical positionand having a rack at its upper end meshing with said pinion, an armprojecting forward from the lower end of said lever, an actuating handleextending upwardly from the same and protruding through a slot in thetop of the forwardly projecting lower portion of said housing, a latchin said housing yieldably held in position to engage said arm and securethe arm and lever stationary with the casing in its normal position, andcoin controlled means for moving said latch to a releasing position.

8. A game apparatus comprising a housing having a forwardly projectinglower portion and above said lower portion having a transparent frontwall, a removable back wall for said housing, a hollow casing filledwith a fluid and disposed vertically in said housing and having atransparent front wall visible through the transparent wall of saidhousing, pockets being provided in said casing at a point about itsperiphery, counters in said casing, the counters being of less specificgravity than the fluid whereby they are adapted to float upwardlytherein and certain of the counters enter said pockets at random whenthe casing is stationary with its pockets at its top, a stub shaft forsaid casing journaled through the back wall of said housing, an armcarried by said shaft, a spring engaging said arm and yieldably holdingthe shaft and casing stationary with the pockets at the top of thecasing, a pinion loose about said shaft within the housing, a ratchetextending about said shaft, a pawl carried by said pinion and engagingsaid ratchet, a lever pivoted to said back wall in a vertical positionand having a rack at its upper end meshing with said pinion, an armprojecting forwardly from the lower end of said lever, an actuatinghandle extending upwardly from the same and protruding through slot inthe top of the forwardly projecting lower portion of said housing, alatch in said housing yieldably held in position to engage said arm andsecure the arm and lever stationary with the casing in its normalposition, and a coin controlled plunger slidable through the front ofsaid housing and having a cam at its inner end for engaging the latchand moving the latch to a releasing position.

HENRY M. KEITH.

